Man, Suspected Of Killing Daughters, Dead In A Police Shootout

On Wednesday, a woman asked for help after her suicidal husband and their two young daughters vanished. This led the police to a shootout with the man, it ended with the man’s death and the discovery of the girls’ bodies in the backseat of his burning car.

Threat to harm:

According to police, the investigation into the deaths of the 42-year-old man and his daughters, ages 8 and 11, in a city near Portland will be lengthy. Few details have been released so far.

Gresham police Sgt.John Rasmussen told reporters that a Portland claimed that, before her husband and daughters went missing, her suicidal husband threatened to hurt the girls. Officers saw the man’s SUV in a gas station parking lot.

Rasmussen stated that when an officer got out of his patrol car, the man lit his own SUV on fire. One officer opened fire while the others searched for the girls and attempting to extinguish the flames.

He said that the officers “broke into the vehicle, they extracted the daughters. Unfortunately, both the 8- and the 11-year-old daughter have been pronounced dead.”

Lengthy investigation:

How or when the girls died and whether the suspect fired a weapon are still not clear. Also, none of the victims have been yet identified.

Rasmussen added that the officers couldn’t to revive all three despite trying. They weren’t injured in the shooting, but several were hurt while attempting to get the girls out of the car. The car wasn’t engulfed in flames and the officers’ injuries were minor they included strains, burns and smoke inhalation.

According to Rasmussen, several law enforcement agencies were helping in the investigation, among them Oregon State Police, Portland Police Department and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

He added: “It’s a horrible and horrific scene for all involved.”

Several police vehicles surrounded the parking lot and the SUV was covered by a white tent canopy, some of the vehicle’s windows seemed to be shattered.

Police had to send away a man who crossed the police tape to leave a handful of red roses and some candles.